1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a leaf rejecting rain gutter for collecting rain water. More particularly, it relates to a leaf rejecting gutter that has a reinforced edge on the leaf shield.
2. The Prior Art
The need to collect run-off rain water from roofs and direct it away from a buildings foundation has been long recognized. There have been numerous attempts at providing gutter systems where a shield is placed over part of the gutter to avoid having leaves and debris enter the gutter.
One such attempt is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,649 to Vahldieck. The Vahldieck patent discloses a leaf rejecting rain gutter in which the shield is formed as a continuous double curved convolute curve, generated on two different radii. However, the Vahldieck rain gutter has a deficiency, in that the lower free end of the shield is rippled or stretched. This ripple is created as a result of cutting forces or tensile forces on the edge as the sheet material which forms the gutter is cut to size or molded into shape. Since the lower free edge of the shield is in close relation to the gutter trough, the ripplededge is quite noticeable. The appearance detracts from the esthetics of the structure on which the gutter is mounted. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a leaf rejecting rain gutter where the lower edge of the shield was generally parallel to the trough.